Reviews of Junk Boy, by Tony Abbott
Kirkus
Two teens struggling with painful home lives forge a complicated friendship in this novel in verse.
Fifteen-year-old Bobby is called Junk by kids at school, a barb directed at him due to the piles of debris that litter the yard of the home where he lives with his neglectful father, who abuses alcohol. Bobby happens to witness the mother of Rachel, an artistically gifted classmate, slapping her daughter after she discovers Rachel kissing another girl. He is drawn to Rachel despite her often mercurial treatment of him. The free-verse form effectively propels this story, which is at once action-oriented and introspective, forward. Bobby’s emotion-filled thoughts make him a narrator it is easy to feel sympathy toward, and readers will likely be relieved by the auspicious events that transpire in his life as he learns more about his family history and is befriended by the town priest. Though the secondary characters are not as well-developed as Bobby is, the idea that people can help others even as they contend with their own demons is clear. This message, and the easily accessible, evocative language of the verse, should hold appeal for a range of realistic fiction fans. The characters all seem to be White.
A poignant, hopeful novel about emerging from the isolation wrought by abuse. (author’s note, resources)(Verse novel. 12-18)
Gr 9 Up–Bobby Lang lives on the edge of town in a dilapidated house with his father, who is disabled and continuously drunk. The kids at school call Bobby Junk, a cruel reminder of the junk-filled property he lives on, and he tries to be invisible at school to avoid the bullying. His story is told in free verse and readers are privy to his thoughts as he ruminates on his lonely life. By accident, he witnesses a moment of violence against his classmate Rachel when her mother discovers her with her girlfriend. Bobby and Rachel bond over their outsider status, and her friendship gives him hope where earlier he felt none. Seasoned YA author Abbott crafts a nuanced story about an unlikely but desperately needed friendship between two outsiders. Both Bobby and Rachel are dealing with weak and abusive parental bonds and the damage this does to them is capably shown. Readers will cringe over what Rachel’s mother tries to force on her daughter because of her sexuality, and will hopefully be pushed to think critically about how words and actions affect others. The narrative also respectfully shows positive aspects of religion and getting mental health assistance.
VERDICT This novel-in-verse has an engaging male POV, and would be a good read-alike for those who enjoyed Jason Reynolds’s Long Way Down. The message of breaking through barriers to reach out for help and being an empathetic friend are important themes for teens to understand, and makes this a definite buy for YA collections.
Reviewed by Nancy McKay, Byron P.L., IL , Aug 01, 2020
Booklist
Bobby Lang, 15, is called Junk at school because the home he shares with his alcoholic, disabled father is surrounded by junk, including an old VW camper up on blocks. He is friendless because of this and his odd appearance. Rachel Braly is another outlier, with a rocky relationship with her mother and a brilliant gift for art, and though she’s prickly and hostile, she catches Bobby’s attention when she draws a portrait of him, demonstrating that she can tell what he is like on the inside. Rachel’s anger gets the better of her, and Bobby tries to save her from herself with mixed results. Bobby also learns the truth about his missing mother, and the resulting catharsis is a catalyst for change in his relationship with his father. This poignant novel in verse captures the bleakness and frustration of both teens’ lives and draws them out of their despair with courage and compassion. The end may be a little too neatly tied up, but after the preceding trauma, the conclusion is both hopeful and a relief.
The Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books
Bobby, now fifteen with no memory of his long-gone mother, is being raised by his father in a wreck of a house at the end of a path on the outskirts of town. Bobby has to navigate daily between his father’s neglect and his stormy outbursts, and he lays low at school, where he’s bullied as “junk boy” for the total mess surrounding his house. A trio of unexpected interests draws Bobby in, almost against his will: the priest, Father Percy, who spends hours smoking and writing near his church; the wreckage of a 1967 VW camper Bobby’s mother left behind; and Rachel, a classmate whose mother has been publicly reviling her over her relationship with another girl. Rachel isn’t much nicer to Bobby than the rest of their classmates, but she needs him as a sounding board, and in turn Bobby is gifted with a new and better vision of himself through talented Rachel’s charcoal portraiture. Ultimately Bobby discovers that there’s a story of grief and guilt behind his father’s behavior, that Rachel is more fundamentally messed up than he is, and that Father Percy is both willing and able to advocate and arbitrate for the two teens. Bobby narrates in largely unrhymed verse with clipped lines and a propulsive cadence that befits its speaker: “thin/ and cold/ and quick to move/ all make/ me/ hard to see/ so/ good for me.” Bobby’s worldview is bleak, and Rachel undergoes a dangerous crisis, but there’s light and redemption at the end that’s hard earned for all players—adult and teen—and even one more road trip in the future for the ’67 V-dub.
